I've always been amped about their activism, but even I'm now thinking .... "can you just shhh and play good music?"

FWIW ... this is a really, really huge issue in Seattle right now. Homelessness in Seattle has grown 21% in one year (43% in 2 years) and the city has no idea how to fix it. We spent $50m on homelessness last year, and expected to spend $75m this year. It's become truly a local epidemic. I walk through it every single day to work and down our neighborhood streets. It's horribly sad. Many, many factors are contributing to this (undiagnosed mental health, drugs, the escalating and unprecedented cost of living, lack of resources, etc etc etc) and there's honestly no end in sight.

We recently passed a "head tax" where any company based in Seattle that makes >$20m per year in profit would pay $275/employee in tax to battle homelessness. It's basically called the Amazon Tax (the cost of living, the overpopulation of the region, and the homelessness crisis are all in direct correlation to the growth of Amazon in the city over the past 5 years). The tax passed unanimously in the city council, but is now looking to get repealed after pressure from Amazon. There were key features missing from the tax (e.g. no written plan on what the city would do with the money), but it's an indicator that this issue isn't going anywhere, and isn't getting any support from the people who have (at least partly) created this problem.

MASSIVE kudos to PJ for doing this. I have a friend who works for a youth homeless non-profit that has a small part in working with PJ on these shows. This was an initiative that PJ brought to the table and is spearheading this entire thing. They've gotten some massive names signed on as donators (Microsoft, Bill Gates, Real Networks, Zillow, Starbucks...to name a few). They've created a real unique, local feel to a humongous show that – no doubt – people will travel to from all over the world. So many people in the city are so excited about these shows... not only because they will be great fun, but also because of the amount of support and focus the band is putting on this issue... especially when no one else knows how to. As much shit as I like to give the band, I can truly say I'm proud to be a fan when it comes to things of this caliber.